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Atmospheric optics is "the study of the optical characteristics of the atmosphere or products of atmospheric processes .... [including] temporal and spatial resolutions beyond those discernible with the naked eye". [1] Meteorological optics is "that part of atmospheric optics concerned with the study of patterns observable with the naked eye". [2]
Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the Sun or Moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates. One common example is the rainbow , when light from the Sun is reflected and refracted by water droplets.
The optical atmospheric window is the optical portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the Earth's atmosphere, excluding its infrared part; [10] although, as mentioned before, the optical spectrum also includes the IR spectrum and thus the optical window could include the infrared window (8 – 14 μm), the latter is ...
Atmospheric windows are useful for astronomy, remote sensing, telecommunications and other science and technology applications. In the study of the greenhouse effect, the term atmospheric window may be limited to mean the infrared window, which is the primary escape route for a fraction of the thermal radiation emitted near the surface.
Atmospheric optical phenomena include: Afterglow; Airglow; Alexander's band, the dark region between the two bows of a double rainbow. Alpenglow; Anthelion; Anticrepuscular rays; Aurora (northern and southern lights, aurora borealis and aurora australis) Belt of Venus; Brocken Spectre; Circumhorizontal arc; Circumzenithal arc; Cloud iridescence ...
Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]
A light pillar or ice pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (e.g. cirrostratus or cirrus clouds). [1]
Atmospheric inversion layer below eye level; surface colder than air: The higher the eye, the more likely; flash is most obvious when the eye is just above the inversion. Sub‑duct flash: Large upper part of an hourglass-shaped Sun turns green for up to 15 seconds; Observer below a strong atmospheric inversion